Page 38 of The Champion
Victor
It was the best time of my life. I felt blessed to be working with Shelly, who spit out brilliant ideas faster than anyone I’d ever met.
At home, I enjoyed my time with Freya. We had deep conversations while cooking and eating dinner together. We played chess and had sex several times a day. At night, I would curl up with her and sleep like a baby. It was something I hadn’t tried before, and it took persistent avoidance to ignore the alarm bells in my head.
When we had sex, Freya would whisper in my ear that she loved me. Every time she did it, my chest swelled with pressure from feelings I couldn’t express.
Three weeks into her stay with us, Freya told me she was meeting with a woman called Marie.
“Why? Who is this woman?”
“She’s a friend of Belle and she’s taking me to see a psychic.”
I snorted. “You’re not serious.”
“Yes, I am. Linea wanted to meet with Madam Claire to ask her questions about her view on spirituality, but the woman’s waiting list was too long for Linea to get in on short notice. That’s why she asked me to go in her place.”
“Why does Linea care what some psychic thinks?”
“Her mother is a priestess and I suppose spirituality is important to them. Maybe they’re curious about French people’s relationship with spirituality. She gave me a list of questions to ask.”
“And where does this Madam Claire live?”
“I don’t know, which is why Marie is taking me.”
I had always ridiculed the Nmen for being protective, but at that moment, I feared that something might happen to Freya.
“You’re not going to some unknown place to meet a stranger.”
“Why not? Isn’t that the French way? You people hook up and go home with strangers all the time.”
I sighed. “I know you think that everyone here is good, but there will always be rotten eggs. I would feel better if I came along.”
With a warm smile, Freya moved chest to chest and raised herself up to kiss me. “Answer me this, Victor Xavier, is this about my safety or yours?”
“Yours, of course.”
“Are you sure it’s not because you’re scared of what my brother and father would do to you if something happened to me?”
I tugged a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I promised Thor to keep you safe. I’m coming with you.”
Marie turned out to be a former co-worker of Belle. From the moment she saw me, she was star-struck. With Freya and I pretending not to be romantically involved, I couldn’t do much about Marie flirting with me and in a way, it created a reminder of what my life would be like in three weeks’ time. The thought that Freya wouldn’t be here created pressure on my chest, making it a little harder to breathe. I had been in denial about my feelings for so long, but it was getting harder to ignore the depth of our connection. I couldn’t tell her, but internally, I was circling around the realization that what I felt for Freya was more than desire. It was love.
I had also admitted to myself that if things had been different, and there had been a way for us to be together, I would have jumped at the chance.
The reality was, however, that before the first summit in 2454, we five delegation members had publicly sworn our loyalty to France in front of everyone. It meant something to me, and I couldn’t abandon my people.
Asking Freya to move here would be selfish when I knew we wouldn’t be able to be exclusive or raise children together. It would break her spirit and I couldn’t do that to her.
“Do you remember my friend Bibi? You took her virginity about eight years ago.”
“No, I’m sorry.” I was happy that Marie spoke French because at least Freya wouldn’t understand.
“What about my colleague, Michelle? She says you took her standing against your panorama windows.”
When Freya paled and increased her pace, I wondered if maybe she understood a little French.
Taking the first flight of stairs leading underground, I answered in a dismissive tone, “I’m sorry, but I’m not good with names.”
